THE COMPLEAT GARGOYLE - Graham School of General Studies ...

FOUNDATIONS
Basic Creative Writing
This course will introduce you to
creative writing, from generating
ideas to revising drafts. Find your
voice and develop your craft through
in-class and at-home writing
exercises, and through discussions
of your own and your fellow
students’ written work. You will also
study canonical and contemporary
models drawn from fiction, poetry,
and creative nonfiction, and will be
encouraged to try your hand at each
of these genres.
Stephanie Friedman
Ms. Friedman is the program
director for the Writer’s Studio.
She holds an MFA in writing from
Vermont College of Fine Arts and an
MA in English from the University
of Chicago.
Scott Onak
Mr. Onak’s fiction has appeared in
Mid-American Review and Quick
Fiction, and he is currently at work
on a novel. He holds an MFA in
creative writing from the University
of Idaho.
Course Code WSBACW
Gleacher Center
$575
Spring 2012
Section 12S1
(Stephanie Friedman)
Tuesdays
March 27–May 15
6–8:30 pm
Summer 2012
Section 12U1
(Scott Onak)
Mondays
June 11–July 30
6–8:30 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 20
FICTION
Fiction Writing Essentials
Explore what you can do with
essential aspects of fiction such as
plot, dialogue, character, setting,
and point of view. We will focus our
attention on reading and writing
assignments that will help us understand
what makes an effective story
and how we can use these same
building blocks in our own work. We
will also spend about a third of our
30 Writer’s Studio
class time discussing drafts of each
other’s short stories in a workshop
format.
Scott Onak
See bio under Basic Creative
Writing.
Course Code WSFWES
Section 12S1
Spring 2012
Gleacher Center
$575
Mondays
March 26–May 14
6–8:30 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 20
Strong Story Starts
Most editors give up on a story if
they aren’t hooked in the first few
pages. This class is designed to help
you make that cut. We will read each
other’s drafts, recommend strong
entry points, and discuss how to
set the stage, heighten the tension,
sharpen the language, and pique a
reader’s curiosity in the first three
pages. We will also discuss readings
on craft and the openings of
successful published stories.
Mark Rader
Mr. Rader’s stories have appeared in
Glimmer Train and Epoch. His work
has been nominated for the Pushcart
Prize and short-listed for the
O. Henry Award. He holds an MFA
from Cornell University.
Course Code WSCSSS
Section 12U1
Summer 2012
Gleacher Center
$285
Tuesdays
June 12–July 3
6–8:30 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 10
Please contact writersstudio@
uchicago.edu for the reading
assignment for the first class; you
must also bring a draft of a
completed story of no more than
15 pages.
Writing the Novel:
Connecting Through
Characters
In the world of a novel, characters
are the engine for movement.
They arrive, depart, grow, shrink,
succeed, and fail. Any novel’s
effectiveness depends heavily on the
connections a reader makes to its
characters. In this course, we will
look at the finer points of character
establishment and development,
determining how best to treat the
players in your imagined world, and
balancing the major characters with
the minor in an organic way that
serves your story’s purpose.
Andrew Ewell
Mr. Ewell’s fiction has appeared
in Narrative, Five Chapters, and
Opium, among others. He is an
assistant editor for Narrative
Magazine. He holds an MFA from
Boston University.
Course Code WSWNCC
Section 12S1
Spring 2012
Gleacher Center
$285
Wednesdays
March 28–April 18
6:30–9 pm
Teacher Recertification CPDUs: 10
Writing the Novel:
Finding Voice(s)
Here our focus turns to the issue
of voice: Who is telling this novel’s
story, and how? How does a writer
determine the most effective
distance and level of omniscience?
That is to say: Who is your narrator,
and how much does he or she know?
Whether third person or first,
spread between six characters or
told by one omniscient narrator, a
novel’s impact is only as effective as
the voices that tell the story. This
course will hone in on establishing
the specifics of your story’s most
effective voice(s), so it (or they)
can be maintained and consistent
throughout.
Andrew Ewell
See bio under Writing the Novel:
Connecting Through Characters.